There's a PTR patch that just hit, we're checking it out--might not be too big. Expect this page to be updated. For now enjoy the spell diffs.

Interesting Stuff:

The strings we pulled show some hints to the maps for the new raid. The 5-mans have them as well, but those aren't as cool (and you've already seen the first 5-man which had the majority of 'em).

DUNGEON_FLOOR_DRAGONSOUL0 = "Dragonblight";

DUNGEON_FLOOR_DRAGONSOUL1 = "Maw of Unmaking";

DUNGEON_FLOOR_DRAGONSOUL2 = "Maw of Ruin";

DUNGEON_FLOOR_DRAGONSOUL3 = "Eye of Eternity";

DUNGEON_FLOOR_DRAGONSOUL4 = "Skyfire Airship";

DUNGEON_FLOOR_DRAGONSOUL5 = "Spine of Deathwing";

DUNGEON_FLOOR_DRAGONSOUL6 = "The Maelstrom";

Items

We've found 84 new items with today's patch including tons of new epic item level 378 gear! Some of these items currently feature placeholder names hinting at their sources, such as "Twilight Hour," "End Time," and "Eternity." In addition to all this epic gear, there's a handful of new weapons, too!

Blessing of Might: Places a Blessing on the friendly target, increasing melee attack power by 20%, increasing ranged attack power by 10%, and restoring 0 mana every 5 seconds for 1 hour. If target is in your party or raid, all party and raid members will be affected. Players may only have one Blessing on them per Paladin at any one time.

Holy Radiance: Imbues a friendly target with radiant energy, healing that target and all party or raid members within 10 yards for 49 to 600 yards for 1 and another 683 every 15 sec for 3 sec ?s85511 .

: Increases your expertise by 4, and increases all party and raid members' melee attack power by 10% and ranged attack power by 5% while within 100 yards of the Shaman.

: Increases your expertise by 8, and increases all party and raid members' melee attack power by 20% and ranged attack power by 10% while within 100 yards of the Shaman.

NPC Abilities

This section has not been analyzed extensively by our team but is included for people interested in seeing what has changed in these areas.View changes

Gravity Bomb: Charges the target with dark energy, causing them to explode and pull in nearby allies after 910 sec.

Hodir's Protective Gaze: Allows Hodir to save a friendly target who sustains fatal damage by encasing them in a nearly impenetrable block of ice for up to until cancelled10 sec. Hodir must rest after performing this action.

Uncategorized

This section has not been analyzed extensively by our team but is included for people interested in seeing what has changed in these areas.View changes

: Places a Blessing on the friendly target, increasing melee attack power by 20% and, ranged attack power by 10%, and restoring 0 mana every 5 seconds for 1 hour. If target is in your party or raid, all party and raid members will be affected. Players may only have one Blessing on them per Paladin at any one time.

: Places a Blessing on the friendly target, increasing melee attack power by 20% and, ranged attack power by 10%, and restoring 0 mana every 5 seconds for 1 hour. If target is in your party or raid, all party and raid members will be affected. Players may only have one Blessing on them per Paladin at any one time.

Blessing of Might: Places a Blessing on members of your raid, increasing melee attack power by 16% and, ranged attack power by 8%, and restoring 0 mana every 5 seconds for 1 hour. Players may only have one Blessing on them per player at any one time.

: Imbues a friendly target with radiant energy, healing them and all party or raid members within 0 yards for 683 and another <Unknown value - The spell referenced no longer exists> every 51 sec for 3 sec.

Glyph of Rejuvenation: While Rejuvenation is active on three or more targets, the cast time of your Nourish is reduced.

Spell Cost Reduction: Reduces the base mana cost of your Holy and Nature spells by 405 and all other spells by 205.

Summon Magmakin: Summons a Magmakin and inflicts 9263 to 9737 Fire damage to targets in a 100 yard radius.

It's been a busy week on the PTR for myself and Ashelia. Every day, we find dozens of new things to write about, turning our observations into epicly-long posts. Since there are so many new things, I've provided a roundup of our 4.3 PTR coverage so far--with all the information, perhaps you missed reading something the first time around!

In our very first overview to 4.3, we went through the initial 1600 datamined items to make sense of it all. Among other things, we found numerous new mounts and pets, items that hinted at changes to holidays like Helm of the Fire Festival, new profession recipes, and many items related to the revamped Darkmoon Faire. We also listed numerous 3d models of NPCs, models, and weapons--as well as making a video of some of the new mount animations. Finally, we listed some of the radical class changes in 4.3, placing them next to Ghostcrawler's quotes on balance for an explanation.

In this dungeon-themed preview, we've got extensive coverage of End Time, one of the new 5 mans--a video highlighting all of the bosses, numerous screenshots of every encounter, the Dungeon Journal entries, and loot drops. We've also provided modelviewer previews of all the matching gear from 5-mans, as well as screenshots of the Transmogrification and Void Storage UI. Also, we've organized the Dungeon Journal entries for Dragon Soul, Well of Eternity, and Hour of Twilight, even though they're not available on the PTR yet.

In this preview, we organized all the new profession recipes into tables--including all the epic gem cuts--and tried to list their source/cost when applicable. We also found a bunch of fun miscellaneous things--some spell effects were changed for staple abilities, Winter Veil pets now hearth and have new sassy dialogue, sell prices of some epics have been drastically changed. The Worgen mount vendor is up, so Alliance players can finally get their two extra mounts--and most importantly, players can make Stardust, so we've got numerous glittery screenshots of that. It's an image-intensive post, but sometimes a picture really does say a thousand words.

This preview covered specific quests in 4.3--Darkmoon Faire and the new Rogue legendary. The datamined quest chains aren't complete by any means, but they provide an initial glimpse into the atmosphere behind these 4.3 additions. The Faire seems like it will be a quirky and light-hearted zone, while the quest for Fangs of the Father seems like it will truly be unique, incorporating core abilities and lore of the Rogue class.

Some of the new PvP sets are simply gorgeous--like the Paladin set with the asymmetrical helm. Others are a bit strange, like the skimpy Rogue top. Regardless, we've provided modelviewer previews of every datamined PvP recolor.

We have two exciting previews for you today and they both focus on the same content: quests in 4.3. For the first part, we've organized the Darkmoon Faire quests into tables, so you can see what kind of dailies and others you'll be doing during the festivities. We've also included their achievement, so you can see how they factor into achievements.

The second half is the rogue legendary preview--showing the initial quests you'll do. These are awesome and very much based on the class, but you'll have to jump down below to see what Perculia, our resident rogue, thinks! I just play a paladin, after all.

Rogue Legendary Quests

A few quests for the Fangs of the Father, the Tier 13 Rogue-only Legendary, were datamined on the PTR. In their official preview, Blizzard stated that they wanted this questline to feel like it was "from the shadows," utilizing signature rogue abilities while creating an air of stealth and trickery. In these four early quests, rogues are asked to pickpocket Cryptomancer's Decoder Ring and then travel to Ravenholdt Manor, the headquarters for a mysterious rogue-only faction. Blizzard has mentioned that they've always wanted to do more with this faction since Classic, so here's their chance to really develop it!

Even from this brief preview, it's clear that Blizzard has tried to integrate core aspects of the Rogue class into this legendary quest series, and we look forward to what they'll include in future steps.

DescriptionCorastrasza, currently stationed at the Vermillion Redoubt in the Twilight Highlands, has intercepted a coded message of grave importance. I'll let her explain the full situation, but we need your expertise to unravel the cipher!

Take your decoder ring to an ethereal thurmaturge in your capital city - he should know how to charge it. Acquire the encoded cipher from Corastrasza and use the ring to decode it for her. Hurry! Time is ticking...

We are working hard to introduce an exciting new feature to World of Warcraft in patch 4.3: the Raid Finder system. While it presents unprecedented technical hurdles and may change before it’s released, we wanted to provide you with an early look at what we hope to accomplish, and share some details that we’ve worked out, which will lend some insight as to how the new feature is planned to work.

So what is the Raid Finder? It will be a brand new grouping feature that superficially works much like the Dungeon Finder. Instead of five-player dungeons, the Raid Finder is designed to help players quickly and easily form a pick-up raid for a specially tuned version of the current tier of raid content: the Dragon Soul raid. It’s not intended to replace organized raiding though. You’ll still need friends and guild members to help you conquer the toughest raiding challenges that patch 4.3 has to offer.

As we currently plan to roll out the Raid Finder feature in patch 4.3, level-85 players will be able to use it to access a 25-player version of the Dragon Soul raid dungeon, which will culminate in a glorious battle against Deathwing himself. Dragon Soul will be split into three different difficulties. The Raid Finder provides access to a new tier of difficulty, which in this case has split the raid into two wings, each containing four boss encounters. Meanwhile, raiders will still need to join with friends and guildmates to face the more challenging normal and heroic versions of the raid, since the Raid Finder cannot be used to access those higher difficulty levels. Naturally, because they’re harder to defeat, the normal and heroic version of Dragon Soul will drop more powerful lootalong with prestigious rewards such as achievements, titles, and epic mounts. Rich rewards still await those who face the Raid Finder version, which we hope will introduce the thrills and epic experience of raiding to a broader audience than ever before.

You can access the Raid Finder through the ‘Raid’ button in the menu at the bottom of the default user interface. The Raid Finder should feel familiar to Dungeon Finder users. Just fire it up, select your class role, click the ‘Find Raid’ button, and get ready to face Deathwing’s jaw of doom.

FAQ

Q. Raids aren’t dungeons. Who will keep things organized?

A. A Raid Finder raid will require someone to queue as leader. The Raid Finder leader will have a very limited set of powers and cannot change loot type, nor do they have the ability to arbitrarily kick people from the raid. They do have the ability to mark targets and use /raid warning, and can promote other players to be leads as well. To be most successful, each Raid Finder group should have at least one leader who will explain the fights, assign raid markers, and make the tough calls, like who the main tank and off-tanks are.

Q. How will loot be distributed?

A. Automatic rolls and the Need Before Greed loot rules will apply in Raid Finder raids, just as they do in Dungeon Finder instances. Also, while Dungeon Finder raids aren’t locked, you are only eligible for loot from a boss once per week. This means that if you were present for the defeat of a boss, whether you receive loot or not, then you will automatically pass on loot that drops during later attempts on that boss during the same week.

Q.How will Raid Finder loot differ?

A. Loot acquired through the Raid Finder, including tier set pieces, will be of a lower item level than items acquired from normal or heroic mode versions of the Dragon Soul raid, and its appearance may differ. Also, there are certain items, as well as components for legendary weapons, which will not drop in Raid Finder raids. While individual bosses will not yield Valor Points as they would in other versions of the raid, you can still earn 250 Valor Points for beating the final boss in each wing of the instance.

Tier armor that drops in Raid Finder raids still provides set bonuses, and those bonuses are compatible with the higher item level versions of the armor available in the normal and heroic mode versions of the raid. None of these tier sets will be available for purchase from a vendor via Valor Points.

Q.Will there be an item level requirement to use the Raid Finder?

A. Yes, accessing raids via the Raid Finder will require that participating characters be level 85 and have attained a certain item level, to help ensure that they are prepared for the content they’ll be facing.

Q. Will the Raid Finder be cross-realm?

A. Yes, the Raid Finder will draw players from all realms. As with the Dungeon Finder, it will place some priority on grouping players from the same realm, though not at the cost of increased queue times.

Q. What kind of raid composition will the Raid Finder create?

A. Each Raid Finder raid will include two tanks, six healers, and seventeen damage dealers. As the raid is assembled, the Raid Finder will attempt to balance the group according to armor type, which should help ensure a healthy mix of melee and ranged dps.

Q. Why 25-player only?

A. A 25-player group is actually easier and faster to fill than a smaller group would be, and allows for greater flexibility in raid creation, all of which will help contribute to lower queue times. Also, 25-player raids are less subject to issues with composition or player connectivity.

The Raid Finder version of the Dragon Soul raid will be designed with pick-up raiding in mind. Normal and heroic difficulties will require the greater organization and teamwork found in guild raid groups.

Q. Will I get Call to Arms benefits when using the Raid Finder?

A. We don’t currently plan to apply Call to Arms benefits to the Raid Finder, though that may change in the future.

Q. Will I be locked to a raid I join through the Raid Finder?

A. Since the Raid Finder only offers access exclusively to a specially tuned version of the Dragon Soul raid instance, instance locks will not be enforced for that version. Instance locks will still be enforced for the normal and heroic versions of the raid.

Q.Can I queue with my friends in a party or raid?

A. Yes, you can queue for the Raid Finder individually, in a party, or in a raid. The Raid Finder can be a great tool to help fill those last few slots in a raid.

Q.I’m a dedicated raider with an organized group, what good is the Raid Finder to me?

A. Since instance locks aren’t in play, Raid Finder raids could provide a way for dedicated raiders to gear up alternate characters, fill gaps in their itemization, finish off elusive set bonuses, or just have some fun while preparing to face the normal or heroic version of the raid on the next reset.

Q. Why aren’t other raids available?

A. The Raid Finder is intended to help players experience the current tier of content.Also, many older raids don’t require a full complement of raiders, making the Raid Finder unnecessary. This is also the first rollout of the feature and we decided to start things simple, rather than potentially delay the feature’s introduction.

If the Raid Finder proves popular, more raid instances may be added to it in the future.

Q. Will Vote Kick still work in the Raid Finder?

A. Yes, though many of the same requirements and restrictions will be in place. For example, kicking too many times can result in a Vote Kick cooldown. Also, the thresholds are different, and several players will need to agree on kicking a candidate before the vote begins. Successful kick votes will require a significant number of Yes votes to pass.

Q.What happens if I leave a Raid Finder raid before it’s over?

A. Players who leave the Raid prematurely will receive a Deserter Debuff, though it will likely be of longer duration than the one applied to users of the Dungeon Finder. This debuff will only apply to the Raid Finder system.

Day 3 on the PTR: Ashelia and I are still scouring for changes. We took turns screenshotting each other's pets, throwing glittery dust on each other, and rolling alts to test out new spell effects.

The end result: we've found tons of little additions--from the Worgen mount vendor to sassy holiday pets that talk back and hearth away--and also compiled a table of all the new profession recipes. Stardust makes you look fabulous and there's something both amazing and sad about watching a snowman falling over.

4.3 Professions

In our initial guide to the PTR, Ashelia and I covered new items related to professions. Neutro helped us out and made a table of all the recipes on the PTR, including all epic gem cuts and craftable PvP gear!

Holiday Pets

The four holiday companions for Feast of Winter Veil no longer need a Snowball to summon--but that's not the only difference on the PTR. Each pet has gotten significant changes, from sassy dialogue to fun animations. These pets are definitely not working overtime when it's outside of the holidays!

Winter's Little Helper: On the PTR, this helper is too stressed to stay long--"Helpers are very busy year-round, and only have leisure time during the Feast of Winter Veil." After scolding the player, the helper will hearth away outside of Winter Veil.

PvP Tier

Merciless PvP gear and weapons (Season 2) are once again purchasable in Stormwind and Orgrimmar. It's a recolor of Tier 5, which many players found distinctive. This could be a bug, as the Vicious/Ruthless vendors are missing, or it could be a step to bring back old PvP sets--which has been hinted at previously.

While we’ve been previewing the visuals of tier 13 on the front page at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com, we thought you might be interested in the magics that lay imbued betwixt their stitches and plating. Behold -- the tier 13 set bonuses!

Please keep in mind that the below data could change during the PTR process prior to the release of patch 4.3.

Death Knight

Blood, 2P -- When an attack drops your health below 35%, one of your Blood Runes will immediately activate and convert into a Death Rune for the next 20 sec. This effect cannot occur more than once every 45 sec.

Blood, 4P -- Your Vampiric Blood ability also affects all party and raid members for 50% of the effect it has on you.

DPS, 2P -- Sudden Doom has a 30% chance and Rime has a 60% chance to grant 2 charges when triggered instead of 1.

DPS, 4P -- Runic Empowerment has a 25% chance and Runic Corruption has a 40% chance to also grant 710 mastery rating for 12 sec when activated.

Feral, 2P -- Pulverize now also grants your Mangle (Bear) critical strikes a 100% chance to trigger Savage Defense, and your Blood in the Water talent now causes Ferocious Bite to refresh the duration of your Rip on targets with 60% or less health.

Feral, 4P -- Frenzied Regeneration also affects all raid and party members. This effect cannot be triggered if you have been in Bear Form for less than 15 sec. In addition, your Stampede talent now grants two charges after using Feral Charge (Cat).

Restoration, 2P -- After using Innervate, the mana cost of your healing spells is reduced by 25% for 15 sec.

Restoration, 4P -- Your Rejuvenation and Regrowth spells have a 10% chance to Timeslip and have double the normal duration.

Hunter

2P -- Steady Shot and Cobra Shot generate double the amount of focus.

4P -- Your Arcane Shot ability has a chance to grant 30% haste to you and your pet for 10 sec.

Mage

2P -- Your Arcane Blast has a 100% chance, and your Fireball and Frostbolt spells have a 50% chance to grant Stolen Time, increasing your haste rating by 50 for 30 sec and stacking up to 10 times. When Arcane Power, Combustion, or Icy Veins expires, all stacks of Stolen Time are lost.

4P -- Each stack of Stolen Time also reduces the cooldown of Arcane Power by 7 sec, Combustion by 4 sec, and Icy Veins by 6 sec.

Paladin

Holy, 2P -- After using Divine Favor, the mana cost of your healing spells is reduced by 25% for 15 sec.

Healer, 2P -- After using Power Infusion or Divine Hymn, the mana cost of your healing spells is reduced by 25% for [10|23] sec. (10 sec for Discipline, 23 for non-Discipline.)

Healer, 4P -- Your Power Word: Shield has a 10% chance to absorb 100% additional damage and increase the mana granted by Rapture by 100%, and the duration of your Holy Word abilities is increased by 20%.

Shadow, 2P -- Shadow Word: Death deals an additional 55% damage, and reduces the damage you take from your own Shadow Word: Death when the target fails to die by 95%.

Shadow, 4P -- Your Shadowfiend and Shadowy Apparitions have a 100% chance to grant you 3 Shadow Orbs each time they deal damage.

But I enlisted the help of Perculia and my guildmates; together we tackled the first 5-man End Time (the other two weren't open) for screenshots and videos. We've also got their drops from the client uploaded on our PTR site; modelviewer sets of all the new dungeon sets which all match each other, even if they don't have set bonuses; and the dungeon journal entries for every instance. There are a lot of placeholders for the DJ, though, so be warned!

End Time Dungeon Journal and Video Preview

Echo of Baine

Enraged by his failure to protect the world and, most importantly, the Horde, this time-ravaged shade of Baine Bloodhoof lingers within the ruins of the Obsidian Dragonshrine. Although he's still as powerful as the tauren high chieftain from the present, within this shattered future Azeroth, this guilt-ridden echo is little more than a discordant vessel of unquenchable malice and anger.

Throw Totem: Baine throws his totem at the target, inflicting 60000 Physical damage to the target, knocking them back. Baine's Totem will persist on the ground at the location for several seconds.

Throw Totem: Throwing the totem back at Baine inflicts 10% Physical damage, stunning him for 6 sec and increasing damage taken by 100%.

Echo of Jaina

The tormented fragment of Jaina Proudmoore has been split and infused within the shattered pieces of her staff. To restore balance to the timeways, this echo must be defeated. However, the devastating magical power possessed by the once-proud ruler of Theramore is hardly lost to her time-havocked spectre. In this future Azeroth, she is only divided, and waiting...

Flarecore: Jaina hurls a growing Flarecore ember at the ground near an enemy. The ember explodes if touched, inflicting 4999-$101980M1 Fire damage to enemies within 5 yds. If not exploded within 10 sec, the ember detonates, inflicting 94500 Fire damage to all enemies.

Frost Blades: Jaina conjures three blades of ice and sends them flying forward. Enemies that collide with the blades are encased in a block of ice, stunning them for 5 sec.

Echo of Sylvanas

Spawned from shattered timeways and cloistered within the Ruby Dragonshrine, a maddened fragment of the Forsaken's leader, Sylvanas Windrunner, waits restlessly. Having lost everything and unable to find peace, this tormented echo aches for a chance to unleash her dark fury at anything still living within these barren, time-twisted wastes.

Shriek of the Highborne: Sylvanas shrieks with anguish, inflicting 50000 Shadow damage to a random enemy and decreasing their movement speed by -50% for 30 sec

Unholy Shot: Sylvanas fires a volley of missiles at an enemy and its nearby allies, striking up to 3 targets for 50000 Shadow damage.

Blighted Arrows: Sylvanas blights the ground beneath an enemy and leaps towards the sky. The blight deals 35000 damage every 0.85 seconds and snares enemies caught within. At the peak of her jump, she fires a volley of deadly arrows at the blighted ground, dealing 50000 Shadow damage to those who remain in the blight, knocking them back.

The Calling of the Highborne

Sylvanas ascends towards the sky, pulling enemies towards her. Her calling rouses the dead nearby, who burst from the ground and form a dark bond. Players that cross this link will take 25000 Shadow damage initially, and for every second they stand in the shadows. They charge mindlessly towards Sylvanas, awaiting her sacrifice. The ritual of sacrifice deals 300000 damage to players within 10 yards of her.
Defeating a ghoul will break the bond.

Echo of Tyrande

Once the leader of the night elves and High Priestess of Elune, this time-twisted fragment of Tyrande Whisperwind now wanders the wastes of the desolate future of Azeroth. Enveloped in a perpetual midnight, she has all but lost sight of the comforting light of Elune.

Stardust: Tyrande scatters a diffuse trail of star energy into the wind, inflicting 20000 Arcane damage to all players.

Moonlance: Tyrande summons forth a powerful lance of moon energy that travels along the ground and splits into three parts after several seconds. Each Moonlance inflicts 30000 Arcane damage to all players within 1.5 yards and stuns them for 5 sec.

Eyes of the Goddess

Tyrande summons forth the twin eyes of Elune, the Moon Goddess. Players cannot attack the Eyes of the Goddess.

Piercing Gaze of Elune: The Eyes of Elune travel in a circular motion around Tyrande, emitting the Piercing Gaze of Elune every 1 seconds. Piercing Gaze of Elune inflicts 30000 Arcane damage to all players within 6 yards and silences them for 5 sec.

Lunar Guidance: At 80% health, Tyrande beseeches Elune for guidance. Tyrande is imbued with Lunar Guidance, allowing her spells to cast 25% faster. Tyrande gains a second stack of Lunar Guidance when she reaches 55% health.

Tears of Elune: At 30% health, Tyrande cries out for aid from the Moon Goddess. Tears of Elune rain from the sky for the remainder of the battle, inflicting 10000 Arcane damage to players within 5 yards.

Murozond

Murozond is the evil version of Nozdormu. (Note the letters are Nozdormu's name reordered. That's how you know he's evil)

Distortion Bomb: Fires an orb of temporal energy at the location. It explodes and inflicts $101984 Shadow damage to all enemies caught within the blast and 25000 Shadow damage every second to all enemies remaining the area. Lasts $d.

Flame Breath: Inflicts 75000 Fire damage to all enemies in front of the caster.

Nozdormu

Nozdormu is unable to assist the players directly, but grants them the Blessing of the Bronze Dragonflight.

Blessing of the Bronze Dragonflight: Blesses the target with the power of the Bronze Dragonflight. Melee, ranged, and spell casting speed is increased by 40%. Movement speed increased by 40%.

Hourglass of Time

The hourglass of time was stolen by Murozond and trapped here within the End Time of Azeroth. Players can use it up to five times, casting Rewind Time.

Rewind Time: Reverses time to the beginning of the fight, restoring health, mana and combat cooldowns. In addition, all Distortion Bombs cast by Murozond are removed.

End Time Screenshots

End Time

Upon zoning into the instance, players view a ruined and charred Dragonblight. Clicking on the orb will transport you to one of the four Dragonshrines, where you will fight a corrupted faction leader.

You'll find yourself in a very different Dragonblight, stripped of its snowy landscape, with little more than ruins of the once-great dragonshrines. Wyrmrest Temple itself stands only as a reminder of Deathwing's madness -- what's left of his scorched remains is impaled atop the structure.

Echo of Baine

The Echo of Baine resides in the Obsidian Dragonshrine, just west of Wrathgate. Players will remember the Obsidian Dragonshrine from The Obsidian Dragonshrine, a quest chain that showed the extent of the Black Dragonflight's corruption. Patrolling dragons and a sea of lava guard Baine.

Echo of Baine: Enraged by his failure to protect the world and, most importantly, the Horde, this time-ravaged shade of Baine Bloodhoof lingers within the ruins of the Obsidian Dragonshrine. Although he's still as powerful as the tauren high chieftain from the present, within this shattered future Azeroth, this guilt-ridden echo is little more than a discordant vessel of unquenchable malice and anger.

Echo of Jaina

The Echo of Jaina resides in the Azure Dragonshrine, south of Wyrmrest Temple. In previous times, it was the home of the Blue Dragonflight and the hub of Malygos' efforts to redirect potent ley lines--which had disastrous consequences. Players engage Jaina after clicking on 16 fragments scattered around the Dragonshrine--patrolling tormented Alliance soldiers may be killed at the player's discretion.

Echo of Jaina: The tormented fragment of Jaina Proudmoore has been split and infused within the shattered pieces of her staff. To restore balance to the timeways, this echo must be defeated. However, the devastating magical power possessed by the once-proud ruler of Theramore is hardly lost to her time-havocked spectre. In this future Azeroth, she is only divided, and waiting....

Echo of Sylvanas

The Echo of Sylvanas resides in the remains of the Ruby Dragonshrine, the home of the Red Dragonflight. Now a shadow of its former self, the zone is barren of all life. Geists patrol this zone filled with dragon bones and dead trees.

Echo of Sylvanas: Spawned from shattered timeways and cloistered within the Ruby Dragonshrine, a maddened fragment of the Forsaken's leader, Sylvanas Windrunner, waits restlessly. Having lost everything and unable to find peace, this tormented echo aches for a chance to unleash her dark fury at anything still living within these barren, time-twisted wastes.

Echo of Tyrande

The Echo of Tyrande resides in the Emerald Dragonshrine--the resting place of Ysera. In this new version, the formerly-verdant shrine is now pitch-black. Tyrande, reflecting in the shadows, casts pools of moonlight around the zone, summoning waves of tormented Sentinels and sabercats. Players engage her after she has finished summoning all of her waves.

Echo of Tyrande: Once high priestess of Elune and leader of the night elves, this time-twisted fragment of Tyrande Whisperwind now wanders the desolate future of Azeroth. Enveloped by eternal midnight, she is forever separated from the comforting light of Elune and torn by questions about why her goddess did nothing to put an end to such madness.

Murozond <The Lord of the Infinite>

After defeating two of the four leaders (chosen at random), players zone into the Bronze Dragonshire. Here players fight the twisted version of Nozdormu--Murozond--in a fun encounter that utilizes hourglasses to increase movement and runspeed.

Once these shades have been laid to rest, the maniacal figure blocking Nozdormu's vision will be revealed at the Bronze Dragonshrine. None of the Dragon Aspects could have predicted what entity would have such power to interrupt the sight of the Timeless One… the ability to create a new and infinite dragonflight. Only by destroying a mysterious dragon known as Murozond will you give Azeroth's protectors the opportunity to avoid the potential outcome to which your eyes bear witness.

Action Screenshots

Here are some screenshots from our afternoon spent on the PTR--you'll get a fuller sense from the video, but some of the faction leaders' abilities were too striking not to capture!

Dungeon Sets Preview

In 4.3, the three 5-mans will have matching gear! They all have unique and interesting skins, so we've got them here for you. Remember to click on the images to open our modelviewer.

Transmogrification and Void Storage

We took some screenshots with the Transmogrification and Void Storage NPCs on the PTR. Blizzard today once again reminded players that the details are subject to change--including Void Storage costs--so for now, just take a peek at what the interface looks like.

Other Dungeon Journal Entries

Start thinking up strategies now--we have all the dungeon journals up here, broken down for you to read into nice tabs!

Well of Eternity

Peroth'arn

Like many of his fellow Highborne, Peroth'arn swore allegiance to the corrupted Xavius in exchange for gifts of demonic power. As a master of fiendish magic and recipient of the satyr curse, Peroth'arn stands outside Azshara's palace in defense of the Burning Legion, ready to destroy those hoping to disrupt the entrance of the Dark Titan, Sargeras, into Azeroth.

Combat Phase: Kill the Satyr!

Peroth'arn is ambushed by the heroes, but won't go down without a fight. He corrupts those around him, dealing heavy damage. PH

Hunting Phase: Hero Failure PH

Easy Prey: Upon being spotted by the Demonic Eyes, the hero is stunned for five seconds and Pero'tharn returns from the shadows. PH

Queen Azshara

The songs of Queen Azshara's beauty, majesty, and power are too numerous to count, but it was her vanity that drove the Highborne to summon the Burning Legion. She now watches her most trusted magi empower the portal where Sargeras will be brought into Azeroth, content to let multitudes of her servants die in advance of the Dark Titan's arrival.

You are mine now!: Periodically, Queen Azshara will charm a random target, causing them to become a puppet. Players will be released from her control when the puppet strings are defeated.

Dance, puppets!: Eventually, Queen Azshara is overcome with boredom. She will attempt to turn the entire party into puppets. This ability must be kicked.

Holy Magus

Mannoroth and Varo'then

Varo'then, head of Queen Azshara's personal guard, and Mannoroth, the pit lord whose blood will corrupt the entire orc race, stand as the last line of defense against those hoping to bar Sargeras's entry into Azeroth. Though both Tyrande and Illidan have fought bravely thus far, the fate of Azeroth will be decided at the Well of Eternity's very brink.

Hour of Twilight

Arcurion

Horde and Alliance assaults against the Twilight's Hammer have slaughtered many of the cult's fearsome elemental ascendants. One exception is Arcurion, a formidable ice ascendant tasked to slay Thrall and retrieve the Dragon Soul. Should this twisted elemental being succeed, nothing will be able to stop Deathwing from ushering in the Hour of Twilight.

Torrent of Frost: At 30% health Arcurion unleashes a devastating Torrent of Frost dealing 20000 frost damage each second to all enemies and reducing their movement speed by -50%.

Asira Dawnslayer

Former blade-for-hire Asira Sunbright was initially leery of working for the Twilight's Hammer, but the cult's generous payments quickly won her over. In time, she succumbed to the corruptive influence of her dark employers, even going so far as to take on the name Dawnslayer. As one of the cult's deadliest assassins, Asira has been called upon to exterminate Thrall and his comrades.

Mark of Silence: Asira marks enemy spellcasters. When a marked target casts a spell, Asira throws a knife in their direction.

Throw Knife: Asira throws one of her knives toward an enemy spellcaster, inflicting 10000 Physical damage to the first player it collides with. If the knife hits a player afflicted with Mark of Silence, it also silences for 2.5 sec.

Choking Smoke Bomb: Creates a cloud of thick smoke in an 10 yard radius around the caster for 40 sec. Enemies are unable to target into or out of the smoke cloud and will take 5000 Nature damage every 1 seconds.

Blade Barrier: Assume a dazzling display of weapon mastery. Incoming damage below 30000 is reduced to 1. Effect ends when the caster is hit by damaging attack or spell above this threshold. Cast at low health.

Lesser Blade Barrier: Asira puts up this weaker barrier when Blade Barrier is removed. Incoming damage below 25000 is reduced to 1. Effect ends when the caster is hit by damaging attack or spell above this threshold.

Archbishop Benedictus

Archbishop Benedictus is the revered leader of the Church of the Holy Light. For years, his wise guidance has been instrumental in seeing humanity through bleak times. Yet beneath his apparent benevolence lies the shocking truth that Benedictus has pledged himself to the eradication of all life on Azeroth through the agency of his dark master... Deathwing.

Stage One: The Betrayal

Benedictus assaults Thrall with the powers of the Holy Light.

Righteous Shear: The Righteous Shear inflicts Holy damage to enemies within 10 yards of the target per stack of Righteous Shear.

Purifying Light: Benedictus forms three orbs of Purifying Light and raises them above his head, sending them to assault a nearby enemy, causing a Purifying Blast.

Wave of Twilight: Benedictus summons a Wave of Twilight to sweep across the platform which inflicts 100000 Shadow damage to nearby enemies, knocking them back.

Thrall

Thrall will assist his allies, helping to combat Archbishop Benedictus.

Cleansing Spirit: Thrall Cleanses the Spirit, dispeling one stack of a magic debuff!

Chain Lightning: Thrall lashes out at the Purifying Light, jumping to another nearby target, destroying them.

Water Shell: The Water Shell protects allies from the Wave of Virtue and increases damage done by 100% while inside the Water Shell.

Dragon Soul

Morchok

The most powerful elemental still under Deathwing's sway, Morchok-once a passive guardian-is now convinced that his only respite will come with Azeroth's demise. Morchok rages against the foundation of Wyrmrest Temple, Azeroth's last beacon of hope in the Hour of Twilight.

Stomp: Morchok performs a massive stomp, splitting 500000 damage between all enemies within 20 yards. The two closest targets take a double share of the damage.

Twilight Orb: Morchok conjures an explosive crystal, which explodes after 12 sec. The explosion splits the damage between the five closest enemies.
The total damage increases the further the enemy is from the crystal.
Designer Note: 150000 damage base.

The Earth Consumes You!

Morchok channels an intense spell, causing fragments to erupt to the surface and draw the Black Blood of the Earth to the surface. For 5 sec, he deals 5000 damage to all visible enemies within 4 yards.

Black Blood of the Earth: Morchok channels the blood of the earth and inflicts 5000 Nature damage to nearby enemies, increasing Nature damage taken by 10% every sec. Stacks up to 20 times.

Fury: Morchok enrages, decreasing the time between his attacks by 50% and increases his damage by 20% for until cancelled.

Warlord Zon'ozz

Countless ages ago, Warlord Zon'ozz and his soldiers waged endless war against the forces of C'Thun and Yogg-Saron. Millennia have passed, but the warlord still serves the chaotic might of the Old God N'Zoth. Deathwing has now unleashed this legendary faceless one to crush the defenders of Wyrmrest Temple.

Void of the Unmaking: Warlord Zon'ozz summons a void of shadows. This void will travel forward until it encounters a soul to absorb. The void then diffuses, causing 200000 Shadow damage split evenly between nearby units. The force of this diffusion causes the void to richocet in the opposite direction, and the souls it absorbed increases the damage it deals by 200000% per diffusion.

A Necessary Distraction!

If the Void of the Unmaking collides with the Warlord Zon'ozz, it will cause a distracting shock to him, increasing the damage he takes by 5% for every stack of Void Diffusion that the void had on impact.
This collision enrages Warlord Zon'ozz, causing him to awaken the Mouth of Iso'rath, but lose any stacks of Focused Anger he had acquired.

Claw of Iso'rath

These units will knock back nearby players and emit the Blood of the Old Gods.

Eye of Iso'rath

These units will cast a Shadowy Gaze at a random enemy, dealing 31200 Shadow damage.

Yor'sahj the Unsleeping

Since the fall of the Bastion of Twilight, Yor'sahj the Unsleeping has eagerly assisted Deathwing, providing the Destroyer with the means to release more faceless ones from their prisons deep beneath the earth. Their numbers are endless and their power is beyond reckoning, and Yor'sahj intends to reap a grim reward for his faithful service.

Void Bolt: Soulflayer Yor'sahj blasts his primary target with dark energy, dealing 75000 Shadow damage and reducing the amount of healing they take by -5%.

Call Blood of the Old Gods: Soulflayer Yor'sahj calls to the might of the Old Gods, summoning a globule of their blood. These globules will path slowly towards Yor'sahj, infusing him with their powers if they reach him.

Fusing Vapors: When attacked, the blood globules emit a vapor that fuses with all other nearby globules, healing them for 5% of their maximum life

Glowing Blood of the Old Gods: Yor'sahj becomes Infused with the Glowing Blood of the Old Gods, causing Void Bolt to hit all nearby targets, reducing the cooldowns by half, and increasing attack speed by 50%.

Cobalt Blood of the Old Gods: Grants the ability: Mana Void. Mana voids will leech the mana from all casters and healers, storing it in the void. Destroying the mana void will return the sum of the mana leeched evenly to all units within 18 yards.

Crimson Blood of the Old Gods: Grants the ability: Searing Blood. Yor'sahj sears the blood of random enemies, dealing 25000 base Fire damage. The further the target stands from Yor'sahj, the more shock they receive from the blast.

Black Blood of the Old Gods: Causes the mouth of Iso'rath to become a bubbling cesspool of corruption, spawning Forgotten Ones periodically.

Forgotten One

These creatures fixate on a random target.

Psychic Slice: Channels a wave of psychic force in a cone in front of the caster, dealing 160000 Shadow damage.

Acidic Blood of the Old Gods: Causes the mouth of Iso'rath to bubble with Digestive Juices. Digestive acid periodically leaks from the stomach lining, dealing 35000 Nature damage to an enemy and its surrounding allies within 4 yards.

Shadowed Blood of the Old Gods: Grants the ability: Deep Corruption. Healing or absorbtion effects taken while under this effect will trigger a detonation at 5 stacks, dealing 50000 Shadow damage to all nearby allies.

Hagara the Stormbinder

Hagara, one of the first students of arcane magic under the Forsaken, showed surprising potential for one who had started learning so late in life. But in her undisciplined attempts to bind elementals into servitude, she was ensnared and twisted by the Windlord, Al'Akir. Now fiercely loyal to the Twilight's Hammer, Hagara binds others for her elemental masters to torment.

You pups don't stand a chance!

Hagara wields the power of ice to paralyze and destroy her enemies.

Ice Lance: Hagara conjures crystals of ice that fire lances towards melee attackers. The lances deal 15000 Frost damage in a 3 yard area around the first enemy struck.

Ice Tomb: Hagara traps an enemy in a tomb of ice. The tomb remains until destroyed.

Binding Crystal

Crystal Conductor: Hagara conjures crystal rods which protect her from the lightning storm she conjures.
Crystal rods connected to the storm deal Nature damage to allies unfortunate enough to be close.

Bound Lightning Elementals

Hagara calls two elementals to aid her during the electrical storm. Upon death, they cause a conductor to overload.

Ultraxion

More an abomination of dark energy than a dragon, Ultraxion has spent his short life absorbing the essence of captured nether dragons. Ultraxion is the only twilight dragon Deathwing has praised, and his arrogance is overshadowed only by the crackling energies surging through his twisted form. Loyal to his master, Ultraxion swears to bring about the fall of Wyrmrest Temple.

Warmaster Blackhorn

Though once vast in number, only a few dozen twilight dragons now remain. Astride these hardened survivors are the last vestiges of the Twilight's Hammer's army: the elite drake riders of Deathwing's personal escort. Led by the insidious Warmaster Blackhorn, they move with unholy purpose, driven to protect their dark master.

Spine of Deathwing

When Deathwing first channeled the Dragon Soul's power against the other flights, the massive energies that were unleashed threatened to break apart his very body. Rather than forgo this weapon, he had adamantium plates fused to his scales to hold his body together. Later reinforced with elementium, these plates are now his weakness--the sole vulnerability to Deathwing's lethal presence.

Barrel Roll: Throughout the encounter, Deathwing tries to throw players from his back when he senses that they are all standing on the same side of his spine. During a barrel roll, all players and other creatures not attached to his back are thrown off.

Elementium Reinforced Plates

The glancing strike from the Dragon Soul has destroyed one of the large armor plates on Deathwing's back and loosened another three. All of these plates must be removed if Thrall is to have a chance to get a clear shot.

Burning Tendons

Burning Tendons are exposed when one of Deathwing's armor plates is pried up. Destroying these fibrous strands is the key to removing an armor plate.

Seal Armor Breach: When an armor plate is pried up, the Burning Tendons rapidly pull the plate closed, protecting the tendons from further damage and preventing the plate from flying off.

Deathwing's Immune System

The creatures that comprise Deathwing's Immune System emerge from the holes in his back left by torn off armor plates. Deathwing defends himself with increasing intensity as more plates are torn off.

Grasping Tendrils: These tendrils sprout from holes in Deathwing's back that aren't currently occupied by Corruption tentacles. Players that wander too close will be grasped, reducing their movement speed by -50% and inflicting 15000 Fire damage every 0 sec. until they move away. This effect prevents players from being thrown off Deathwing's back.

Corruption

These tentacles are dramatic physical manifestations of the Old God Corruption that runs rampant through Deathwing's body. They are the first to emerge from the holes in his back left by armor plates, and they seal the wound completely, preventing any other creatures from emerging from it.

Searing Plasma: Coats the victim in the searing blood of Deathwing. The thick blood will absorb up to 300000 healing done to the target and will cause the victim to cough up blood, periodically inflicting 10000 Physical damage.

Fiery Grip: Grips victims with a whip-like cord of plasma, stunning them for up to 30 sec and inflicting 50000 Fire damage every 5 sec. The corruption must channel to maintain this effect, and it may be broken by inflicting significant damage to the tentacle. This effect prevents players from being thrown off Deathwing's back.

Hideous Amalgamation

These unstable creatures are a patchwork of Elementium Armor fragments and pieces of the former Dragon's body held together by his molten blood.

Absorb Blood: Absorbs nearby Corrupted Blood residue. The Amalgamation grows more unstable with each Residue absorbed, increasing its damage by 10% and attack speed by 10%. At stacks it will become superheated.

Superheated Nucleus: The core of the Amalgamation becomes critically unstable, causing it to inflict 15000 Fire damage to all enemies every 3 sec. If it is destroyed in this state it will trigger a Nuclear Blast.

Nuclear Blast: The superheated nucleus of the Amalgamation triggers a massive explosion, inflicting 500000 Fire damage to targets within 10 yds. This blast is powerful enough to pry up one of Deathwing's Elementium plates if it is within range.

Degradation: Destroyed Amalgamations degrade the maximum health of all enemy targets by -6%. This effect occurs regardless of the state of the nucleus and stacks up to $106005u times.

Blood Corruption: Death: Deathwing's corruption courses through your veins. This corruption will take hold if it is not removed quickly, infecting the player with the Blood of Deathwing. When dispelled this effect jumps to a new target and can mutate into Blood Corruption: Earth.

Blood of Deathwing: The blood of Deathwing explodes violently from your veins, inflicting 875000 Fire damage to you and several other players.

Blood Corruption: Earth: A shadow of Neltharion courses through your veins. This corruption will take hold if it is not removed quickly, infecting the player with the Blood of Neltharion. When dispelled this effect jumps to a new target and can mutate into Blood Corruption: Death.

Blood of Neltharion: The barest hint of a shadow of the former Earth-Warder suffuses your blood. Damage taken from all sources is reduced by -10%. This effect can stack up to times.

Corrupted Blood

These living globs of Deathwing's blood appear fragile, but leave behind an indestructible residue when killed.

Residue: This indestructible residue is left behind when a Corrupted Blood is destroyed. It slowly creeps toward the nearest hole in Deathwing's Back where it will be reconstituted into a new Corrupted Blood.

Madness of Deathwing

A warped mass of molten hatred and unfathomable power, this formless, mindless horror cannot be stopped. Whatever was left of Neltharion the Earth-Warder is long gone, his mind and soul corrupted and devoured by his Old God masters. All this monstrous being desires is destruction, annihilation, and the end of all things.

Stage One: The Final Assault

Deathwing assaults his enemies as long as he is attached to the platforms by his twisted limbs.

Assault Aspect: Deathwing begins to search for his next enemy to assault. Deathwing will assault the platform with the largest number of players present on it that one of his limbs is still grasping onto.

Cataclysm: Deathwing attempts to finish the job he started by bringing forth a second Cataclysm, inflicting 1500000 Fire damage to all enemies.

Elementium Meteor:Deathwing creates an Elementium Meteor, sending it to the target platform.

Elementium Meteor

If the Elementium Meteor reaches it's destination it will inflict 400000 Fire damage to all enemies the damage decreases the further from the target location.

Hemorrhage: Deathwing's tentacle begins to Hemorrhage, causing several Regenerative Blood to spawn at a nearby location.

Aspects: The great aspects assist in the fight against Deathwing. Each aspect will channel Expose Weakness on their respective Limb Tentacle when Deathwing begins to cast Cataclysm, increasing the damage done to the Tentacle by 200%. Additionally each aspect will begin to channel Concentration after it's respective tentacle is destroyed, preventing them from assisting the players with their presence and their special powers. When Phase two begins all of the aspects will resume assisting the champions.

Nozdormu

Time Zone: Nozdormu forms a Time Zone at the target location, causing the Elementium Meteor to lapse in time, decreasing its travel speed dramatically when entering the Time Zone. Additionally any enemy creatures within the Time Zone have their attack speed decreased by -50%.

Ysera

Ysera's Presence: The Presence of the great aspect Ysera increases healing done by 30%.

Dreaming:The Presence of the great aspect Ysera allows players to enter the Dream, decreasing damage taken by -50%.

Kalecgos

Kalecgos' Presence: The Presence of the great aspect Kalecgos increases damage dealt by 30%.

Spell-Weaving: The Presence of the great aspect Kalecgos causes attacks and abilities to cause Spellweaving. Spellweaving inflicts 100000 Arcane damage to enemies within 8 yards, excluding the target.

Thrall

Carrying Winds: The Carrying Winds will take players to the adjacent platform. The Carrying Winds increase your move speed by 60%. Stacks.

We've datamined the season 11 arena sets and here they are for you to check out--some really gorgeous sets, especially the paladin set. Remember to click on the images to load our awesome modelviewer so you can preview the images for yourself and take your own screenshots if needed!

The Paladin set didn't have a breastplate, so it's safe to assume the last model of each set is an extra set that isn't going to be used. The first and second sets are normal and elite PvP season 11 models.

Check out the initial lore behind Fangs of the Father, the new Rogue legendary, as well as the official preview of Priest Tier 13, which we covered yesterday in our preliminary 4.3 PTR guide.

Fangs of the Father

"They wanted to hold me, to keep watch over me – a prisoner in all but name. But I will NOT be held accountable for the sins of my father. My destiny will be my own."- Wrathion, the Black Prince

The Contract

Patch 4.3 will offer the most deadly and experienced rogues the opportunity to finally play a central role in the fate of the world the rogue’s way: by manipulating key events from the shadows. Players will travel across continents to accomplish crucial missions of reconnaissance, burglary, infiltration and, of course, assassination. Those familiar with the events that unfolded in the Badlands since the Cataclysm struck may recall the story of Rheastrasza, the ambitious red dragon who acquired a black dragon egg and magically purified it, cleansing it of the Black Dragonflight’s corruption. While those events may lead to a more hopeful destiny for Azeroth, it will take cleverness, stealth, skill, and the help of a few friends to unravel the web of intrigue that will reveal what became of the egg… and determine the fate of Deathwing himself.

Wetwork

Rogues willing to do whatever is necessary to ignite a brighter future must first delve into the Dragon’s Soul raid dungeon to begin the quest line. Those who prove their prowess within will be set on a collision course with Ravenholdt Manor and the enigmatic Black Prince, Wrathion. This shadowy figure could be the key to victory for the mortal races, but what is his true agenda? Before the truth behind these mysteries are revealed, enterprising assassins will need to fight tense raid battles against Deathwing’s most powerful minions, and embark alone on perilous missions to seal the fate of the Black Dragonflight. The quest culminates in the earth-scorching execution of Deathwing himself and a shocking revelation about the true nature of the mission.

What’s in it for me?

Rogues who succeed will receive a paired set of daggers that will become increasingly lethal as their bearer progresses along the legendary quest. At the height of their strength, they will be imbued with the vile essence of the Old Gods, as well as the maddened fury of the Black Dragonflight -- bestowing great power upon their bearer. These powers include a stacking increase to Agility which builds until dark wings unfurl from the rogue’s back, removing the combo point cost and increasing damage of finishing moves for a short time. In addition, the wings which can be spread on command (with no combat benefit) to slow a rapid descent, allowing the rogue to slowly fall to the ground… or enact a little death from above! When it comes to dealing death, the Fangs of the Father promise legendary killing power to rogues of any specialization.

An incredible adventure and legendary rewards await. The future of all life on Azeroth hangs in the balance. Better get moving.

Vestments of Dying Light

Adventurers will be tested like never before in 4.3 as they take on Deathwing and his minions, emerging with powerful new treasures. Please enjoy this preview of the priest tier 13 set, as well as a visual guide to tiers 1 through 12 for Transmogrification purposes.

Vestments of Dying Light

Priests (and paladins for that matter) are often the most challenging classes to design ‘badass’ armor sets for, in contrast to the death knight and warlock, whose underlying concepts demand the unquestionably cool dark and sinister approach.

In this instance, however, the design asked for a bold, two-tone, ‘Venetian carnival style with creepy, soulless black eyes,’ which gave me a powerful, potentially edgy direction to explore. The set’s ‘Dying Light’ theme was visualized as a spiked, setting sun motif.